Sidney Chautauqua: World War I

05/24/2025

Why the Poppy?

The poppy is the most widely-recognized symbol of remembrance for war dead in Canada, Britain, and the US. The flower owes its significance to the poem "In Flanders Fields", written by Major (later Lieutenant-Colonel) John McCrae, a field surgeon in the Canadian artillery, in the midst of the Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgium.

On May 2, 1915, John McCrae’s close friend and former student Alexis Helmer was killed by a German shell. That evening, in the absence of a Chaplain, John McCrae recited from memory a few passages from the Church of England’s “Order of the Burial of the Dead”. For security reasons Helmer’s burial in Essex Farm Cemetery was performed in complete darkness.

The next day, May 3, 1915, Sergeant-Major Cyril Allinson was delivering mail. McCrae was sitting at the back of an ambulance parked near the dressing station beside the YserCanal, just a few hundred yards north of Ypres, Belgium.

As John McCrae was writing his In Flanders Fields poem, Allinson silently watched and later recalled, “His face was very tired but calm as he wrote. He looked around from time to time, his eyes straying to Helmer's grave."

Within moments, John McCrae had completed the “In Flanders Fields” poem and when he was done, without a word, McCrae took his mail and handed the poem to Allinson.

Allinson was deeply moved: “The (Flanders Fields) poem was an exact description of the scene in front of us both. He used the word blow in that line because the poppies actually were being blown that morning by a gentle east wind. It never occurred to me at that time that it would ever be published. It seemed to me just an exact description of the scene."

Source: http://www.flandersfieldsmusic.com/thepoem.html

09/18/2024

These might make nice poppies for Memorial Day.

12/26/2022

Remembering the 1914 Christmas Day truce between the Allies and Germany during WWI.

06/23/2021

In October 1917, a Boston Terrier named "Stubby" was smuggled aboard the S.S. Minnesota with the 102nd Infantry bound for France. During his time in the military was awarded the actual rank of Sergeant on military records. He saved countless lives by warning troops of incoming artillery and mustard gas, was directly involved in spotting and capturing a German spy, comforted wounded soldiers on the battlefield, and then survived wounds from an enemy gr***de. Both Stubby and his owner survived the war and lived a long full life together. His remains are preserved in the Smithsonian.

Read his story here:
https://portal.ct.gov/.../People/Stubby-the-Military-Dog

06/20/2021

06/14/2021

Happy Flag Day! June 14, 1916

When the American Revolution broke out in 1775, the colonists weren’t fighting united under a single flag. Instead, most regiments participating in the war for independence against the British fought under their own flags. In June of 1775, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to create the Continental Army—a unified colonial fighting force—with the hopes of more organized battle against its colonial oppressors. This led to the creation of what was, essentially, the first “American” flag, the Continental Colors.

For some, this flag, which was comprised of 13 red and white alternating stripes and a Union Jack in the corner, was too similar to that of the British. George Washington soon realized that flying a flag that was even remotely close to the British flag was not a great confidence-builder for the revolutionary effort, so he turned his efforts towards creating a new symbol of freedom for the soon-to-be fledgling nation.

On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress took a break from writing the Articles of Confederation and passed a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white,” and that “the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

Over 100 years later, in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson marked the anniversary of that decree by officially establishing June 14 as Flag Day.

Discover the history of the annual holiday and check out 13 surprising facts about the American flag and how to properly display it.

12/24/2020

Nebraska's overall death toll was variously reported between 2,800 to 7,500 people—a broad range because Nebraska’s reporting was so woefully incomplete. Medical professionals gave various reasons for this. Many said that the large number of patients left them little time to keep good records. Federal officials considered Nebraska’s numbers so inaccurate that they omitted them when calculating the nation’s total infection rate and mortality.

A new and deadly flu strain hit the US early in 1918 and greatly intensified by September. It was part of a global pandemic. How did Nebraskans respond?

09/25/2020

During WWI, several Navy ships were painted with a wild, experimental camouflage intended to ward off attacks. These were referred to as "Dazzle Ships".

It's the "extreme opposite" of traditional camouflage.

09/23/2020

An interesting editorial from the Denver publication "Municipal Facts" in November 1918. Apparently they were experiencing the same pushback to quarantines and wearing masks as in 2020, even though the "Spanish Flu" was far more deadly than Covid-19.

Notice the physicians of 1918 also did not agree on the value of wearing masks any more than the doctors of 2020.
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"A city health department is able to cope promptly and efficiently with all ordinary contagious diseases when one becomes epidemic. people have a wholesome respect for a typhoid, scarlet fever or smallpox sign and will, of their own volition, respect established quarantines in a manner that renders invaluable assistance to health authorities.

For some reason, however, even the most enlightened citizens will not take the influenza epidemic seriously. They know that it is the most widespread epidemic that has ever visited America. They know that the disease is a deadly menace and snuffs out life almost before the victim realizes that he is ill. Yet when health officers try to impress upon the public the necessity of following essential rules and regulations, the average citizen simply refuses to heed these admonitions. Obviously, it is impossible to arrest the entire citizenship of the city, and this is what health authorities would have to do if they attempted to enforce rules to the letter.

The state health board threatened to close Denver tight unless the city medical advisory board did so, yet when the second closing order was promulgated, and a general protest followed from business men, the board receded from its position and advised the wearing of masks.

Two points present themselves in considering this question. First, the general public apparently will not accept any responsibility in the matter, probably because the disease is new in its present form. Secondly, the physician themselves, whose advice must be taken by the executives in a crisis of this nature, are divided upon the value of the masks as a preventive.

It must, however, be borne in mind that this disease is entirely new in this epidemic form, and exceedingly fatal. Any suggestion that promise relief should be tried.

Every precaution suggested by the Board of Health should be observed by the people and, as conditions change, regulations also may change. The table published on another page, previously published in the daily newspapers as part of the educational campaign against the epidemic, shows that relatively Denver has not borne an excessive percentage in its death rate. It is presumed that this had been due largely to the precautions taken by the Department of Health and Charity, in conjunction with the Medical Advisory Council."

09/23/2020

"March of Democracy" on 16th Street in Denver after the Armistice had been signed. November, 1918